Quilting is a sewing process by which layers of textile material and other fabric are joined to produce compressible panels that are both decorative and functional. Stitch patterns are used to decorate the panels with sewn designs while the stitches themselves join the various layers of material that make up the quilts. Large scale quilting processes usually use high-speed multi-needle quilting machines to form a series of panels along webs of the multiple-layered materials. These large scale quilting processes typically use chain-stitch sewing heads which produce resilient stitch chains that can be supplied by large spools of thread.
After the pattern has been stitched in a panel, the panel must be cut to length and trimmed to a width such that the stitched pattern is centered on the cut panel. If a panel is automatically cut from a quilted material web without locating the quilted pattern, the quilted pattern may be shifted to one side of the panel or, in some circumstances, may be partially cut off when the panel was cut from the web. Thus, the panel must be cut from the web using manual or semiautomatic processes in which an operator is used to align cutting devices so that the quilted pattern is approximately centered in the panel. Further, proper centering of the pattern on the panel facilitates a more automated and less labor intensive panel assembly or sewing process. Therefore, there is a need to provide a panel cutter of a relatively simple design that accurately and quickly automatically centers the pattern on the panel in the cutting process.